Control system, slave device control part, control method, and non-transitory computer readable medium

ABSTRACT

The control system includes a master device control part controlling a master device with a certain number of control axes by using master information and a slave device control part controlling a slave device with a certain number of control axes by using slave information. The control system includes an abstracted master information creating part for creating abstracted master information having a fixed number of elements based on a predetermined manner for allocation and according to the number of elements of the received master information. The slave device control part extracts elements in a number in accordance with the number of elements of the slave information from the fixed number of elements included in the abstracted master information based on a predetermined manner for extraction and according to the number of elements of the slave information to create the slave information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of Japan Application No.2018-024860, filed on Feb. 15, 2018. The entirety of the above-mentionedpatent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made apart of this specification.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The disclosure relates to a control system, and more particularly, to acontrol system that controls a master device and a slave device incombination. In addition, the disclosure relates to a slave devicecontrol part constituting part of such a control system. The disclosurealso relates to a control method and a program for such a controlsystem.

Description of Related Art

Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Laid-OpenNo. 6-71580), for example, a synchronous control method of a dual-armrobot which coordinately controls a master arm (master device) with aspecific number of control axes and a slave arm (slave device) with aspecific number of control axes is known.

Further, as disclosed in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Laid-Open No.2002-192486), a robot control method that causes a robot (slave device)with a specific number of control axes to follow a workpiece mounted ona conveyor (master device) with a specific number of control axes andmoving is known.

However, across the conventional examples, the control method is limitedto those for a master device with a specific number of control axes anda slave device with a specific number of control axes in combination.Therefore, the type of the slave device, possible actions, etc. arerestricted by the type of the master device. That is, the versatility ofcontrol is limited.

The disclosure provides a control system capable of controlling aplurality of types of master devices with mutually different numbers ofcontrol axes and a plurality of types of slave devices with mutuallydifferent numbers of control axes in combination. In addition, thedisclosure provides a slave device control part which constitutes partof such a control system and is capable of controlling a plurality oftypes of slave devices with mutually different numbers of control axes,and a control method and a program for such a control system.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the disclosure provides a control system that controls amaster device and a slave device in combination, and the control systemincludes: a master device control part controlling a master device witha certain number of control axes among a plurality of types of masterdevices with mutually different numbers of control axes by using masterinformation having elements equal in number to the number of controlaxes; a slave device control part controlling a slave device with acertain number of control axes among a plurality of types of slavedevices with mutually different numbers of control axes by using slaveinformation having elements equal in number to the number of controlaxes; and an abstracted master information creating part sequentiallyreceiving the master information from the master device control part andcreating abstracted master information having a fixed number of elementsbased on a predetermined manner for allocation and according to thenumber of elements of the received master information. In addition, theslave device control part sequentially receives the abstracted masterinformation from the abstracted master information creating part,extracts elements in a number in accordance with the number of elementsof the slave information from the fixed number of elements included inthe received abstracted master information based on a predeterminedmanner for extraction and in accordance with the number of elements ofthe slave information, and creates the slave information by using valuesindicated by the extracted elements.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a slave device control partconstituting part of a control system for controlling a master deviceand a slave device in combination and for controlling a slave devicewith a certain number of control axes among a plurality of types ofslave devices with mutually different numbers of control axes by usingslave information having elements equal in number to the number ofcontrol axes. The control system includes: a master device control partcontrolling a master device with a certain number of control axes amonga plurality of types of master devices with mutually different numbersof control axes by using master information having elements equal innumber to the number of control axes, and the slave device control partincludes: an information extracting part sequentially receivingabstracted master information having a fixed number of elementsregardless of the number of elements of the master information andextracting elements in a number in accordance with the number ofelements of the slave information from the fixed number of elementsincluded in the received abstracted master information based on apredetermined manner for extraction and according to the number ofelements of the slave information; and a slave information creating partcreating the slave information by using values indicated by the elementsextracted by the information extracting part.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a control method for a controlsystem that controls a master device and a slave device in combination.The control system includes: a master device control part controlling amaster device with a certain number of control axes among a plurality oftypes of master devices with mutually different numbers of control axesby using master information having elements equal in number to thenumber of control axes; and a slave device control part controlling aslave device with a certain number of control axes among a plurality oftypes of slave devices with mutually different numbers of control axesby using slave information having elements equal in number to the numberof control axes. The control method includes: sequentially receiving themaster information from the master device control part; creatingabstracted master information having a fixed number of elements based ona predetermined manner for allocation and according to the number ofelements of the received master information; extracting elements in anumber in accordance with the number of elements of the slaveinformation from the fixed number of elements included in the abstractedmaster information based on the predetermined manner for extraction andaccording to the number of elements of the slave information; andcreating the slave information by using values indicated by theextracted elements.

In yet another aspect of the disclosure, a program for causing acomputer to execute the control method is provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a block configuration of a robot controlsystem according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance of various robots used as amaster device or a slave device. (A) of FIG. 2 shows a belt conveyor asa one-axis device, (B) of FIG. 2 shows an X-Y table as a two-axisdevice, and (C) of FIG. 2 shows a six-axis robot.

(A) of FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing storage contents of anallocation setting storing part of the robot control system. (B) of FIG.3 is a diagram schematically showing storage contents of an extractionsetting storing part of the robot control system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a manner for allocation from elementsof master information to six elements of abstracted master informationin a certain allocation setting correspondence table stored in theallocation setting storing part.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a manner for allocation from elementsof master information to six elements of abstracted master informationin another allocation setting correspondence table stored in theallocation setting storing part.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a manner for allocation from elementsof master information to six elements of abstracted master informationin still another allocation setting correspondence table stored in theallocation setting storing part.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flow of a control method for an embodimentwhich creates the abstracted master information from the elements of themaster information in the central control part of the robot controlsystem.

(A) of FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a format of an allocation settingcorrespondence table. (B) of FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a format of theabstracted master information created based on the allocation settingcorrespondence table.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flow of a control method for an embodimentwhich creates slave information from the abstracted master informationin a slave device control part of the robot control system.

FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing contents of extractioninformation extracted based on a certain extraction setting list in theslave device control part.

FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing contents of extractioninformation extracted based on another extraction setting list in theslave device control part.

FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing contents of extractioninformation extracted based on still another extraction setting list inthe slave device control part.

(A) of FIG. 13 is a diagram exemplifying a cam table serving tocalculate updated slave information by using the extraction information.(B) of FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a cam profile curve serving tocalculate the updated slave information by using the extractioninformation.

(A) of FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a matrix R representing a fixedrelative position and orientation to be adopted by a slave device withrespect to a master device. (B) of FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a matrixM representing extraction information extracted from the abstractedmaster information and sequentially updated at regular intervals. (C) ofFIG. 14 is a diagram showing a matrix S representing a command value(position and orientation) for a slave device 102-6 calculated as theproduct of the matrix M and the matrix R.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a mode in which both the master devicecontrol part and the central control part of the robot control systemare accommodated in one housing and the slave device control part isaccommodated in another housing.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a mode in which the master device controlpart of the robot control system is accommodated in one housing, and thecentral control part and the slave device control part are housed inanother housing.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a mode in which the master device controlpart, the central control part, and the slave device control part of therobot control system are respectively accommodated in mutually differenthousings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detailwith reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a block configuration of a robot control system 10according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The robot control system10 is a system devised to control a master device 101 and a slave device102 in combination. Hereinafter, for the sake of simplicity, regardingthe master device 101 and the slave device 102, “control axis” is simplyreferred to as “axis”, and “number of control axes” is simply referredto as “number of axes”.

As the master device 101, a device with a certain number of axes m(e.g., m=1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6) among a plurality of types of devices withmutually different numbers of axes, such as a belt conveyor as aone-axis device as shown in (A) of FIG. 2, an X-Y table as a two-axisdevice as shown in (B) of FIG. 2, a 6-axis robot as shown in (C) of FIG.2, etc., serves as a target. Likewise, as the slave device 102, a devicewith a certain number of axes n (e.g., n=1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6) among aplurality of types of devices with mutually different numbers of axesserves as a target.

As shown in FIG. 1, in this example, the robot control system 10includes a master device control part 20, a central control part 30serving as a central control device, a slave device control part 40, anda user program storing part 50 mounted in one housing 10A (indicated bya dot-dash line).

In the user program storing part 50, a master device control instruction51 is stored as a program for controlling the master device 101. Inaddition, in the user program storing part 50, a slave devicesynchronizing instruction 52 is stored as a program for synchronizingthe slave device 102 with the master device 101.

The master device control part 20 receives the master device controlinstruction 51 as a control command MCC and controls the master device101 with a certain number of axes m by using master information Mmcomposed of m elements equal in number to the number of axes m. That is,the master device control part 20 transmits command values CVm for maxes as the master information Mm to the master device 101, receivescurrent values CVm′ for m axes from the master device 101, and controlsthe master device 101. In this example, each element of the masterinformation Mm is sequentially updated at regular intervals, wherebyeach axis of the master device 101 is respectively driven.

The slave device control part 40 generally receives the slave devicesynchronizing instruction 52 as a control command SCC, and creates slaveinformation Sn for controlling the slave device 102 with a certainnumber of axes n based on abstracted master information AM6 to bedescribed afterwards (details of creation manner will be describedlater). The slave information Sn includes n elements equal in number tothe number of axes n of the slave device 102 to be controlled. In otherwords, the slave information Sn includes command values CVn for n axes.The slave device control part 40 controls the slave device 102 by usingthe slave information Sn.

The central control part 30 includes an allocation settingcorrespondence table selecting part 32, an axis information allocatingpart 33 and a magnification factor applying part 34, which constitute anabstracted master information creating part 31, and an allocationsetting storing part 35.

In general, the abstracted master information creating part 31sequentially receives the master information Mm (in particular, thecurrent values CVm) from the master device control part 20, and createsthe abstracted master information AM6 composed of elements in a fixednumber (six elements in this example) based on a predetermined mannerfor allocation and in accordance with the number of elements m of thereceived master information Mm. In other words, the abstracted masterinformation AM6 commonly composed of six elements is created from theelements of the master information Mm (the number of elements m can bevarious natural numbers of 6 or less). As illustrated in (B) of FIG. 8,the abstracted master information AM6 includes X (position on X-axis), Y(position on Y-axis) and Z (position on Z-axis), which are threeelements representing degrees of freedom of translation, and Yaw (valueof the yaw angle), Pitch (value of the pitch angle) and Roll (value ofthe roll angle), which are three elements representing degrees offreedom of rotation.

As exemplified in (A) of FIG. 3, the allocation setting storing part 35stores the manner for allocation from the elements of the masterinformation Mm to the six elements of the abstracted master informationAM6 for each of the mutually different types of the master informationMm as an allocation setting correspondence table AST1, AST2, . . . ,AST6 (in this example, AST1, AST2, . . . , AST6 are generally referredto with a reference symbol “AST”) of the respective elements in thisexample. In this example, the types of the master information Mm includenot only those having mutually different numbers of elements m but alsothose having mutually different properties (translation and rotation) ofthe elements. Each allocation setting correspondence table AST includesan “element in abstracted master information” column, an “axis code inmaster device” column, and a “magnification factor” column. The “elementin abstracted master information” column represents X, Y, Z, Yaw, Pitch,and Roll, which are the six elements of the abstracted masterinformation AM6. The “axis code in master device” column represents theelements of the master information Mm, which should correspond to thesix elements, by axis code. The “magnification factor” columncorrespondingly stores, for each element to which the element of themaster information Mm is allocated among the six elements, themagnification factor associated with the element. This serves torepresent the value of the element in a suitable unit to allow the valueof the element to have a physical meaning. Offset values (constantvalues) to be added to or subtracted from the values of the elements ofthe master information Mm may also be stored in advance in theallocation setting correspondence table AST in place of or in additionto the magnification factors.

For example, as shown in (A) of FIG. 4, the allocation settingcorrespondence table AST1 defines the manner for allocation from oneelement of the master information Mm to the six elements of theabstracted master information AM6 in the case where the master device101 is a belt conveyor 101-1 which translates on one axis (axis A0).That is, in this example, the axis A0 in (A) of FIG. 4 corresponds toX-axis of the abstracted master information AM6 shown in (B) of FIG. 4.The reason for this is that the design of the entire production line issimplified by determining a uniform rule such as “the proceedingdirection of the production line is X-axis”. As a result, as shown in(C) of FIG. 4, the axis A0 is allocated to the element X of theabstracted master information AM6. In this example, the remainingelements Y, Z, Yaw, Pitch, and Roll of the abstracted master informationAM6 are fixed to the value 0. Moreover, in this example, as shown in (D)of FIG. 4, the axis A0 of the belt conveyor 101-1 has a specification ofmoving 1 mm per 100 pulses, that is, 0.01 mm/pulse. Accordingly, amagnification factor of 0.01 is stored in correspondence with theelement X of the abstracted master information AM6.

Moreover, as shown in (A) of FIG. 5, the allocation settingcorrespondence table AST2 defines the manner for allocation from twoelements of the master information Mm to the six elements of theabstracted master information AM6 in the case where the master device101 is an X-Y table 101-2 which translates on two axes (axis A0 and axisA1). That is, in this example, the axis A0 and the axis A1 in (A) ofFIG. 5 respectively correspond to X-axis and Y-axis of the abstractedmaster information AM6 shown in (B) of FIG. 5. As a result, as shown in(C) of FIG. 5, the axis A0 and the axis A1 are respectively allocated tothe elements X and Y of the abstracted master information AM6. In thisexample, the remaining elements Z, Yaw, Pitch, and Roll of theabstracted master information AM6 are fixed to the value 0. Moreover, inthis example, as shown in (D) of FIG. 5, the axis A0 of the X-Y table101-2 has a specification of moving 1 mm per 50 pulses, that is, 0.02mm/pulse. Furthermore, the axis A1 of the X-Y table 101-2 has aspecification of moving 1 mm per 100 pulses, that is, 0.01 mm/pulse.Accordingly, magnification factors of 0.02 and 0.01 are respectivelystored in correspondence with the elements X and Y of the abstractedmaster information AM6.

Furthermore, as shown in (A) of FIG. 6, the allocation settingcorrespondence table AST6 defines the manner for allocation from sixelements of the master information Mm to the six elements of theabstracted master information AM6 in the case where the master device101 is a six-axis robot 101-6 which translates on three axes (X, Y, Z)and rotates on three axes (Yaw, Pitch, Roll). In this example, as shownin (B) of FIG. 6, the six axes, which are X, Y, Z, Yaw, Pitch, and Roll,of the master information Mm directly correspond to the 6 elements,which are X, Y, Z, Yaw, Pitch, and Roll of the abstracted masterinformation AM6 respectively. Regarding each element of the abstractedmaster information AM6, a magnification factor of 1.0 is stored. Whenthe master device 101 has the 6 axes X, Y, Z, Yaw, Pitch, and Roll, thismanner for allocation is the simplest.

As can be seen from the examples above, when the elements X, Y, and Z ofthe master information Mm represent the degrees of freedom oftranslation, the elements X, Y, and Z are allocated to either of thethree elements X, Y, and Z representing the degrees of freedom oftranslation in the abstracted master information AM6. Meanwhile, whenthe elements Yaw, Pitch, and Roll of the master information Mm representthe degrees of freedom of rotation, the elements Yaw, Pitch, Roll areallocated to either of the three elements Yaw, Pitch, Roll representingthe degrees of freedom of rotation in the abstracted master informationAM6. In this way, the manner for allocation can be determined relativelyeasily.

FIG. 7 is shows a flow of a control method for an embodiment whichcreates the abstracted master information AM6 from the elements of themaster information Mm in the central control part 30.

Firstly, the allocation setting correspondence table selecting part 32acquires the master information Mm (in particular, the current valuesCVm′) from the master device control part 20 (Step S101 in FIG. 7) andselects the allocation setting correspondence table AST in accordancewith the type of the master information Mm (Step S102 in FIG. 7).

In this example, in accordance with the master device 101 being the XYtable 101-2 which translates on two axes (axis A0 and axis A1), theallocation setting correspondence table AST 2 (table shown in (C) ofFIG. 5) is selected, as shown in (A) of FIG. 8.

Next, a loop for six rows of the abstracted master information AM6 isstarted (Step S103 in FIG. 7) by the axis information allocating part33, as shown in (B) of FIG. 8. Then, regarding the row of interest ofthe abstracted master information AM6, by referring to the correspondingrow of the allocation setting correspondence table AST2 shown in (A) ofFIG. 8 (the row having the same code as that of the row of interest)(Step S104 in FIG. 7), whether the axis of the master device 101 isallocated (Step S105 in FIG. 7) is determined. Here, if the axis of themaster device 101 is allocated (YES in Step S105 of FIG. 7), the valueof the corresponding element is acquired from the master information Mm(Step S106 in FIG. 7). Then, the value of the element is multiplied bythe magnification factor set in the corresponding row of the allocationsetting correspondence table AST2 by the magnification factor applyingpart 34 (Step S107 in FIG. 7). Afterwards, the value aftermultiplication is set in the row of interest of the abstracted masterinformation AM6 (Step S109 in FIG. 7).

For example, when the row of interest of the abstracted masterinformation AM6 is the first row, the axis A0 of the master device 101is allocated after referring to the corresponding row (first row) of theallocation setting correspondence table shown in (A) of FIG. 8.Therefore, the value of the corresponding element (the current value ofthe axis A0) is acquired from the master information Mm. Moreover, thevalue of the element is multiplied by the magnification factor (0.02 inthis example) set in the corresponding row (first row) of the allocationsetting correspondence table AST2. In this way, the value of the elementcan be provided with a physical meaning. Subsequently, the value aftermultiplication (represented by “◯◯◯” in (B) of FIG. 8 in this example)is set in the row of interest (first row) of the abstracted masterinformation AM6.

Also, when the row of interest of the abstracted master information AM6is the second row, the axis A1 of the master device 101 is allocatedafter referring to the corresponding row (second row) of the allocationsetting correspondence table shown in (A) of FIG. 8. Therefore, thevalue of the corresponding element (the current value of the axis A1) isacquired from the master information Mm. Then, the value of the elementis multiplied by the magnification factor (0.01 in this example) set inthe corresponding row (second row) of the allocation settingcorrespondence table AST2. In this way, the value of the element can beprovided with a physical meaning. Subsequently, the value aftermultiplication (represented by “ΔΔΔ” in (B) of FIG. 8 in this example)is set in the row of interest (second row) of the abstracted masterinformation AM6.

In addition, in replace of or in addition to the magnification factor,an offset value (a constant value) may also be stored in the allocationsetting correspondence table AST in advance, and the offset value may beadded to or subtracted from the value of the element of the masterinformation Mm.

Meanwhile, if the axis of the master device 101 is not allocated in StepS105 of FIG. 7 (NO in Step S105 of FIG. 7), a fixed value set in thecorresponding row of the allocation setting correspondence table AST2 isacquired by the axis information allocating part 33 (Step S108 in FIG.7). Then, the fixed value is set in the row of interest of theabstracted master information AM6 (Step S109 in FIG. 7).

For example, when the row of interest of the abstracted masterinformation AM6 is the third row, after referring to the correspondingrow (third row) of the allocation setting correspondence table shown in(A) of FIG. 8, the axis of the master device 101 is not allocated.Therefore, a fixed value “0” set in the corresponding row (third row) ofthe allocation setting correspondence table AST2 is acquired. Then, thefixed value “0” is set in the row of interest (third row) of theabstracted master information AM6.

In this way, when the loop for six rows of the abstracted masterinformation AM6 is ended (Step S110 in FIG. 7), the abstracted masterinformation AM6 as shown in (B) of FIG. 8 is created.

In this example, the values of the six elements, which are X, Y, Z, Yaw,Pitch, and Roll, of the abstracted master information AM6 are “∘ ∘ ∘”,“ΔΔΔ”, “0”, “0”, “0”, “0”, respectively.

In the following, to be distinguished from the fixed value “0”, valuesacquired from the master information Mm (including values multiplied bymultiplication factors, values obtained by adding or subtracting offsetvalues, etc.), such as “∘∘∘”, “ΔΔΔ”, etc., are referred to as “acquiredvalues”. Moreover, a flag indicating whether the acquired value is setmay also be marked in each row of the abstracted master information AM6.

In the above example, the allocation setting correspondence table AST 2(table shown in (C) of FIG. 5) is selected in accordance with the casewhere the master device 101 is the X-Y table 101-2 which translates ontwo axes (axis A0 and axis A1). However, the disclosure is not limitedthereto. The allocation setting correspondence table AST1 shown in (C)of FIG. 4 may also be selected in accordance with the case where themaster device 101 is the belt conveyor 101-1 that translates on one axis(axis A0). In addition, in accordance with the case where the masterdevice 101 is the six-axis robot 101-6 which translates on three axes(X, Y, Z) and rotates on three axes (Yaw, Pitch, Roll), the allocationsetting correspondence table AST6 shown in (B) of FIG. 6 may also beselected. In either case, the abstracted master information AM6 composedof six elements can be created based on the allocation settingcorrespondence table AST.

In this way, the central control part 30 (the abstracted masterinformation creating part 31) creates the abstracted master informationAM6 commonly composed of six elements from the elements of the masterinformation Mm (the number of elements m can be various natural numbersof 6 or less). By referring to the allocation setting correspondencetable AST, the abstracted master information creating part 31 canquickly create the abstracted master information AM6 from the elementsof the master information Mm. The central control part 30 provides thecreated abstracted master information AM6 to the slave device controlpart 40 shown in FIG. 1 for creating the slave information Sn.

As shown in FIG. 1, the slave device control part 40 includes aninformation extracting part 41, a trajectory updating part 43 and acommand value calculating part 44 constituting a slave informationcreating part 42, an extraction setting storing part 45, and anextraction setting list selecting part 46.

The information extracting part 41 generally sequentially receives theabstracted master information AM6 from the abstracted master informationcreating part 31, and extracts elements in a number in accordance withthe number of elements n of the slave information Sn for the slavedevice 102 to be controlled by the slave device control part 40 from thesix elements included in the received abstracted master information AM6based on a predetermined manner for extraction to be described later.

As shown in (B) of FIG. 3, the extraction setting storing part 45 storesthe manner for extraction from the six elements of the abstracted masterinformation AM6 in accordance with the number of elements n of the slaveinformation SN for each of the mutually different types of the slaveinformation SN as an extraction setting list EXL1, EXL2, . . . , EXL6(in this example, EXL1, EXL2, . . . , EXL6 are generally referred towith a reference symbol “EXL”). In this example, the types of the slaveinformation Sn include not only those having mutually different numbersof elements but also those having mutually different properties(translation and rotation) of the elements. Each extraction setting listEXL includes an “element in abstracted master information” column, a“used in slave device” column, and a “warning” column. The “element inabstracted master information” column represents X, Y, Z, Yaw, Pitch,and Roll, which are the six elements of the abstracted masterinformation AM6. The “used in slave device” column indicates whetherthese six elements are respectively elements to be extracted, that is,whether these six elements are to be used in the slave device 102 (to becontrolled by this slave device control part 40), with “YES” or “NO”. Inthe “warning” column, regarding the element indicated as “YES” in the“used in slave device” column among the six elements of the abstractedmaster information AM6, whether a warning should be issued when anelement (acquired value) from the master information Mm is not allocatedto this element (element to be extracted) of the abstracted masterinformation AM6 due to some abnormality is indicated with “YES” or “NO”.The symbol “-” in the “warning” column means that whether a warning isissued is not determined.

For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the extraction setting list EXL1 isone for the case where the slave device 102 to be controlled is a slavedevice 102-1 with one axis (e.g., a one-axis electronic cam or anelectronic gear, or the belt conveyor shown in (A) of FIG. 2), and thesetting in the “used in slave device” column corresponding to the sixelements of the abstracted master information AM6, which are X, Y, Z,Yaw, Pitch, and Roll, is respectively “YES”, “NO”, “NO”, “NO”, “NO”,“NO”. Moreover, the setting in the “warning” column is respectively“NO”, “-”, “-”, “-”, “-”, “-”.

Also, as shown in FIG. 11, the extraction setting list EXL2 is one forthe case where the slave device 102 to be controlled is a slave device102-2 with two axes (e.g., the X-Y table shown in (B) of FIG. 2), andthe setting in the “used in slave device” column corresponding to thesix elements of the abstracted master information AM6, which are X, Y,Z, Yaw, Pitch, and Roll, is respectively “YES”, “YES”, “NO”, “NO”, “NO”,“NO”. Moreover, the setting in the “warning” column is respectively“NO”, “YES”, “-”, “-”, “-”, “-”.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 12, the extraction setting list EXL6 is onefor the case where the slave device 102 to be controlled is a slavedevice 102-6 with six axes (e.g., the six-axis robot shown in (C) ofFIG. 2), and the setting in the “used in slave device” columncorresponding to the six elements of the abstracted master informationAM6, which are X, Y, Z, Yaw, Pitch, and Roll, is respectively “YES”,“YES”, “YES”, “YES”, “YES”, “YES”. Moreover, the setting in the“warning” column is respectively “YES”, “YES”, “YES”, “NO”, “NO”, “NO”.

FIG. 9 shows a flow of a control method for an embodiment which createsthe slave information Sn from the abstracted master information AM6 inthe slave device control part 40.

Firstly, from the extraction setting lists EXL1, EXL2, . . . , EXL6stored in the extraction setting storing part 45, the extraction settinglist EXL in accordance with the type of the slave information Sn for theslave device 102 to be controlled by the slave device control part 40 isselected by the extraction setting list selecting part 46 (Step S201 inFIG. 9).

For example, in the case where the slave device 102 to be controlled isthe slave device 102-1 with one axis (e.g., a one-axis electronic cam orelectronic gear, or the belt conveyor as shown in (A) of FIG. 2), theextraction setting list EXL1 shown in FIG. 10 is selected. Also, in thecase where the slave device 102 to be controlled is the slave device102-2 with two axes (e.g., the X-Y table as shown in (B) of FIG. 2), theextraction setting list EXL2 shown in FIG. 11 is selected. Moreover, inthe case where the slave device 102 to be controlled is the slave device102-6 with six axes (e.g., the six-axis robot as shown in (C) of FIG.2), the extraction setting list EXL6 shown in FIG. 12 is selected.

Next, the abstracted master information AM6 from the central controlpart 30 (the abstracted master information creating part 31) is receivedand acquired by the information extracting part 41 (Step S202 in FIG.9).

Next, a loop for six rows of the abstracted master information AM6 isstarted by the information extracting part 41 (Step S203 in FIG. 9), asshown in (B) of FIG. 8. Then, regarding the row of interest in theabstracted master information AM6, whether the row of interest indicatesan element to be used in the slave device 102 is determined by referringto the “used in slave device” column in the corresponding row (row withthe same code as that of the row of interest) of the extraction settinglist EXL (Step S204). Here, if the row of interest indicates an elementto be used in the slave device 102 (YES in Step S204), whether theacquired value from the master information Mm is set in the row ofinterest of the abstracted master information AM6 is further determined(Step S205). This determination is made by, for example, identifyingwhether the value of the row of interest of the abstracted masterinformation AM6 is the acquired value or the fixed value. Further, aflag indicating whether the acquired value is set in each row of theabstracted master information AM6 may also be marked in advance for theconvenience of this determination. Here, if the acquired value is set inthe row of interest of the abstracted master information AM6 (YES inStep S205), the acquired value set in the row of interest is extractedas necessary information (Step S206). Alternatively, if the acquiredvalue is not set in the row of interest of the abstracted masterinformation AM6 (NO in Step S205), whether a warning is to be issued isdetermined by referring to the “warning” column of the corresponding rowof the extraction setting list EXL (Step S207). Here, if a warning is tobe issued (YES in Step S207), the information extracting part 41 issuesa warning (Step S208). The method for issuing a warning includes variousmanners such as, for example, flashing a light emitting diode (LED) lampprovided in the slave device 102, stopping the processing of the slavedevice 102 as an abnormality, leaving the warning in the event history.As a result, maintenance personnel, etc., of the central control part30, the slave device control part 40 and/or the robot control system 10can promptly take appropriate measures. If the result after referring tothe “warning” column of the corresponding row of the extraction settinglist EXL is that a warning is not to be issued (NO in Step S207), theinformation extracting part 41 does not issue a warning. Then, the rowof interest in the abstracted master information AM6 is moved to thenext row. In this way, the loop for six rows of the abstracted masterinformation AM6 is ended (Step S209).

Then, when the flow is terminated normally, for example, in the examplewhere the extraction setting list EXL1 shown in FIG. 10 is selected,extraction information En1 composed of one element is acquired incorrespondence with the one element X of the abstracted masterinformation AM6, as shown in the same figure. The acquired value of theelement is indicated as “X-axis acquired value”. In addition, in theexample where the extraction setting list EXL2 shown in FIG. 11 isselected, extraction information En2 composed of two elements isacquired in correspondence with the two elements X and Y of theabstracted master information AM6, as shown in the same figure. Theacquired values of these elements are respectively indicated as “X-axisacquired value” and “Y-axis acquired value”. Moreover, in the examplewhere the extraction setting list EXL6 shown in FIG. 12 is selected,extraction information En6 composed of six elements is acquired incorrespondence with the six elements X, Y, Z, Yaw, Pitch, and Roll ofthe abstracted master information AM6, as shown in the same figure. Theacquired values of these elements are respectively indicated as “X-axisacquired value”, “Y-axis acquired value”, “Z-axis acquired value”,“Yaw-axis acquired value”, “Pitch-axis acquired value”, and “Roll-axisacquired value”.

In this way, the extraction information En1, En2, or En6 (generallyreferred to as extraction information En) composed of elements in anumber in accordance with the number of elements n of the slaveinformation Sn can be obtained. That is, the slave device control part40 can quickly extract elements in a number in accordance with thenumber of elements n of the slave information Sn from the six elementsof the abstracted master information AM6 by referring to the extractionsetting list EXL stored in the extraction setting storing part 45.

Thereafter, in Step S210 of FIG. 9, the trajectory updating part 43constituting the slave information creating part 42 updates and obtainsa trajectory TR (composed of elements in a number in accordance with thenumber of elements n of the slave information Sn) for the slave device102 by using the extraction information En (the values indicated by theextracted elements). Further, in Step S211 of FIG. 9, a command value(composed of elements in a number in accordance to the number ofelements of n of the slave information Sn) in accordance with thetrajectory TR is calculated and output. Accordingly, the slaveinformation Sn is sequentially created by the slave information creatingpart 42 at regular intervals synchronized with updates of the masterinformation Mm in this example.

For example, in accordance with a movement T (the current position isset as x) as the “X-axis acquired value” of the extraction informationEn 1 composed of one element, an updated command value (position) y ofthe electronic cam as the one-axis slave device 102-1 is calculated.With a master movement amount for one cycle of the cam profile being setas T, there is a relationship that a cam phase p=x mod T (x mod T meansthe remainder obtained through dividing x by T). A function y=f (p)representing the cam curve has been set in advance. In this case, theupdated command value (position) y of the slave device 102-1 iscalculated through y=f (p). During calculation, a cam table representingthe correspondence between the phase p and the movement y as shown in(A) of FIG. 13, for example, may also be prepared to calculate thecommand value (position) y. The command value (position) y equivalent tothe spacing of the cam table can be calculated and obtained throughlinear interpolation. Alternatively, the command value (position) y mayalso be calculated by using the cam profile curve y=f (p) defined aroundone cycle of the cam as shown in (B) of FIG. 13.

Further, in the case where the master device 101 is a six-axis robot, inaccordance with the extraction information En6 composed of six elements,the updated trajectory of the six-axis slave device 102-6 is calculatedand serves as a command value (position and orientation). Here, it isset that the slave device 102-6 is controlled with the position andorientation of the extraction information En6 (same as the abstractedmaster information AM6) as reference to maintain a fixed relativeposition and orientation. In this case, as shown in (A) of FIG. 14, thefixed relative position and orientation are set in advance byrepresenting the constant relative position and orientation with thematrix R. Here, as shown in (B) of FIG. 14, the extraction informationEn6 (same as the abstracted master information AM6) that is sequentiallyupdated at regular intervals is represented with the matrix M.Consequently, as shown in (C) of FIG. 14, the command value (positionand orientation) for the slave device 102-6 is calculated as the matrixS=M·R, that is, as the product of the matrix M and the matrix R. As aresult, the slave device 102-6 can perform tracking including rotationin a three-dimensional space with respect to the master device 101.

In this way, the slave device control part 40 creates the slaveinformation Sn composed of elements in a number in accordance with thenumber of elements n of the slave information Sn and controls the slavedevice 102 by using the created slave information Sn. In other words,the slave device control part 40 controls the slave device 102 by usingthe slave information Sn composed of elements equal in number as thenumber of axes n of the slave device 102.

According to the above operation, the abstracted master information AM6composed of six elements is sequentially created regardless of thenumber of elements m of the master information Mm (i.e., the number ofaxes m of the master device 101). Also, regardless of the number ofelements n of the slave information Sn (i.e., the number of axes n ofthe slave device 102), the slave information Sn for controlling theslave device 102 is sequentially created from the abstracted masterinformation AM6. Therefore, it is possible to control a plurality oftypes of the master devices 101 with mutually different numbers of axesm and a plurality of types of the slave devices 102 with mutuallydifferent numbers of axes n in combination.

For example, if the master device 101 with a certain number of axes m isswitched to a master device with a different number of axes, and/or ifthe slave device 102 with a certain number of axes n is switched to aslave device with a different number of axes, the switched master deviceand/or slave device can be immediately controlled in combinationaccording to the robot control system 10.

The robot control system 10 may be substantially constituted by acomputer device (e.g., a programmable logic controller (PLC), etc.). Forexample, the master device control part 20, the abstracted masterinformation creating part 31 of the central control part 30, and theinformation extracting part 41, the slave information creating part 42,and the extraction setting list selecting part 46 of the slave devicecontrol part 40 are constituted by a processor operating according to aprogram. Further, the allocation setting storing part 35, the extractionsetting storing part 45, and the user program storing part 50 areconstituted by a storage device such as a non-volatile semiconductormemory, etc. Therefore, the control method in the central control part30 described with reference to FIG. 7 and the control method in theslave device control part 40 described with reference to FIG. 9 may berespectively set as programs for execution by a computer. Further, thecontrol method in the central control part 30 described with referenceto FIG. 7 and the control method in the slave device control part 40described with reference to FIG. 9 may be set as one continuous program.In addition, these programs may be respectively recorded in a computerreadable non-transitory recording medium. In this case, the controlmethod can be implemented by causing a computer device to read andexecute the programs recorded in the recording medium.

In the embodiment described above, as shown in FIG. 1, it is set thatthe master device control part 20, the central control part 30 as acentral control device, the slave device control part 40, and the userprogram storing part 50, which constitute the robot control system 10,are mounted in one housing 10A (indicated by a one-dot chain line).However, the disclosure is not limited thereto.

For example, as shown in FIG. 15, it may also be set that both themaster device control part 20 and the central control part 30constituting the robot control system 10 are accommodated in one housing11A, while the slave device control part 40 is accommodated in anotherhousing 11B. In this example, a user program storing part 50A isprovided in the housing 11A, and the user program storing part 50Astores the master device control instruction 51 and the slave devicesynchronizing instruction 52. The slave device synchronizing instruction52 and the abstracted master information AM6 between the housings 11Aand 11B are transmitted and received via, for example, Ethernet forControl Automation Technology (EtherCAT, registered trademark) bycommunication parts (not shown) mounted to the housings 11A and 11Brespectively. The embodiment of FIG. 15 is suitable for dispersing thescale of a system. In particular, it is suitable when the number of axesm of the master device 101 is smaller than the number of axes n of theslave device 102.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 16, it may also be set that the masterdevice control part 20 constituting the robot control system 10 isaccommodated in one housing 12A, while the central control part 30 andthe slave device control part 40 are accommodated in another housing12B. In this example, a user program storing part 50B is provided in thehousing 12B, and the user program storing part 50B stores the masterdevice control instruction 51 and the slave device synchronizinginstruction 52. The slave device synchronizing instruction 51 and themaster information Mm are transmitted and received between the housings12A and 12B by communication parts (not shown) mounted to the housings12A and 12B respectively. The embodiment of FIG. 16 is suitable fordispersing the scale of a system. In particular, it is suitable when thenumber of axes m of the master device 101 is greater than the number ofaxes n of the slave device 102.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 17, it may also be set that the master devicecontrol part 20, the central control part 30, and the slave devicecontrol part 40, which constitute the robot control system 10, arerespectively accommodated in mutually different housings 13A, 13B, and13C. In this example, a user program storing part 50C is provided in thehousing 13C, and the user program storing part 50C stores the masterdevice control instruction 51 and the slave device synchronizinginstruction 52. The master device control instruction 51 and the masterinformation Mm between the housings 13A and 13C as well as the slavedevice synchronizing instruction 52 and the abstracted masterinformation AM6 between the housings 13C and 13B are transmitted andreceived by communication parts (not shown) mounted to the respectivehousings 13A, 13C and 13B. The embodiment of FIG. 17 is suitable forfurther dispersing the scale of a system.

In the above example, the abstracted master information AM6 isrepresentatively set as being composed of six elements, but the numberof elements is not limited thereto. For example, in the case mainly forthe control of a four-axis horizontal articulated robot, the abstractedmaster information may be composed of four elements (X, Y, Z, Yaw).

Further, the control system of the disclosure is not limited to the casein which a so-called robot (e.g., a six-axis robot as shown in (C) ofFIG. 2) as a control object is included. The disclosure is also suitablefor the case where the master device 101 is, for example, a beltconveyor as shown in (A) of FIG. 2 and the slave device 102 is, forexample, an X-Y table as shown in (B) of FIG. 2.

The above embodiments serve as examples, and various modifications arepossible without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Each of theabove-described embodiments can be established independently, but it isalso possible to combine the embodiments. In addition, various featuresin different embodiments can also be established independently, butcombinations of features in different embodiments are also possible.

In this specification, the “type” of the master device or the slavedevice includes not only those having mutually different numbers ofcontrol axes but also those having mutually different properties(translation and rotation) of the control axes.

In addition, the predetermined “manner for allocation” refers acorresponding method indicating which element included in the masterinformation having a certain number of elements is to be allocated towhich element among a fixed number of elements (e.g., six elements) ofthe abstracted master information. Accordingly, the manner forallocation is determined differently as the number of elements, such as1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, of the master information varies.

The predetermined “manner for extraction” refers to a method indicatingwhich element is to be extracted from the fixed number of elementsincluded in the abstracted master information. The number of extractedelements is set as a number in accordance with the number of elements ofthe slave information to be created.

Also, the value of each element of “master information” and the value ofeach element of “slave information” are sequentially updatedrespectively. Accordingly, each axis of the master device and each axisof the slave device are driven respectively.

In the control system of the disclosure, the master device control partcontrols the master device with a certain number of control axes (e.g.,1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6) by using the master information composed ofelements equal in number to the number of control axes thereof. Theabstracted master information creating part sequentially receives themaster information from the master device control part and creates theabstracted master information composed of a fixed number of elementsbased on the predetermined manner for allocation and according to thenumber of elements of the received master information. In other words,the abstracted master information commonly composed of the fixed numberof elements is created from the elements of the master information (thenumber of elements can be various natural numbers of 6 or less). Theslave device control part sequentially receives the abstracted masterinformation from the abstracted master information creating part,extracts elements in a number in accordance with the number of elementsof the slave information from the fixed number of elements included inthe received abstracted master information based on the predeterminedmanner for extraction and in accordance with the number of elements ofthe slave information (for the slave device to be controlled by theslave device control part itself), and creates the slave information byusing the values indicated by the extracted elements. Then, the slavedevice control part controls the slave device by using the created slaveinformation. In other words, the slave device control part controls theslave device by using the slave information composed of elements equalin number to the number of control axes thereof.

According to the above operation, the abstracted master informationcomposed of the fixed number of elements is sequentially createdregardless of the number of elements of the master information (i.e.,the number of control axes of the master device). Also, regardless ofthe number of elements of the slave information (i.e., the number ofcontrol axes of the slave device), the slave information for controllingthe slave device is sequentially created from the abstracted masterinformation. Therefore, it is possible to control a plurality of typesof master devices with mutually different numbers of control axes and aplurality of types of slave devices with mutually different numbers ofcontrol axes in combination.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the control systemincludes an allocation setting storing part storing, as a correspondencetable of respective elements, a manner for allocation from the elementsof the master information to the fixed number of elements of theabstracted master information for each of the master information withmutually different numbers of elements.

In the control system of an embodiment of the disclosure, by referringto the correspondence table of the respective elements that is stored inthe allocation setting storing part, the abstracted master informationcreating part can quickly create the abstracted master information fromthe elements of the master information.

In the control system according to an embodiment of the disclosure, thecorrespondence table of the allocation setting storing partcorrespondingly stores, for each element to which the element of themaster information is allocated among the fixed number of elements ofthe abstracted master information, a magnification factor associatedwith the element.

In the control system according to an embodiment of the disclosure, whenthe abstracted master information creating part creates the abstractedmaster information, for example, for each element to which the elementof the master information is allocated among the fixed number ofelements of the abstracted master information, the value of the elementis respectively multiplied by the corresponding magnification factor.Accordingly, the value of the element is respectively represented in asuitable unit, and the value of the element can be provided with aphysical meaning.

In the control system according to an embodiment of the disclosure, thefixed number of elements of the abstracted master information in thecorrespondence table include an element representing a degree of freedomof translation and an element representing a degree of freedom ofrotation, and when the element of the master information represents thedegree of freedom of translation, the element is allocated to an elementrepresenting the degree of freedom of translation in the abstractedmaster information, and when the element of the master informationrepresents the degree of freedom of rotation, the element is allocatedto an element representing the degree of freedom of rotation in theabstracted master information.

In the control system of an embodiment of the disclosure, the manner forallocation which allocates the elements of the master information to thefixed number of elements of the abstracted master information can bedetermined relatively easily.

The control system of an embodiment of the disclosure includes anextraction setting storing part storing a manner for extraction from thefixed number of elements of the abstracted master information.

In the control system of an embodiment of the disclosure, by referringto the manner for extraction stored in the extraction setting storingpart, the slave device control part can quickly extract elements in anumber in accordance with the number of elements of the slaveinformation from the fixed number of elements of the abstracted masterinformation.

In the control system of an embodiment of the disclosure, the extractionsetting storing part respectively stores the manner for extraction as alist for each of the slave information with mutually different numbersof elements.

In the control system of an embodiment of the disclosure, by referringto the list stored in the extraction setting storing part, the slavedevice control part can quickly extract elements in a number inaccordance with the number of elements of the slave information from thefixed number of elements of the abstracted master information.

In the control system of an embodiment of the disclosure, the slavedevice control part refers to an element to be extracted in accordancewith the manner for extraction among the fixed number of elements of theabstracted master information, and issues a warning when the element ofthe master information is not allocated to the element.

In the control system of an embodiment of the disclosure, the slavedevice control part refers to an element to be extracted in accordancewith the manner for extraction among the fixed number of elements of theabstracted master information. Here, when an element of the masterinformation is not allocated to the element being referred to (theelement to be extracted), whether an abnormality has occurred isconsidered. Therefore, the slave device control part issues a warningwhen an element of the master information is not allocated to theelement being referred to (the element to be extracted). As a result,maintenance personnel, etc., of the control system can promptly takeappropriate measures.

In the control system, the master device control part controls themaster device with a certain number of control axes (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4,5, or 6) by using the master information composed of elements equal innumber to the number of control axes. Here, in the slave device controlpart of the disclosure, the information extracting part sequentiallyreceives the abstracted master information having a fixed number ofelements regardless of the number of elements (which can be variousnatural numbers of 6 or less) of the master information and extractselements in a number in accordance with the number of elements of theslave information from the fixed number of elements included in thereceived abstracted master information based on the predetermined mannerfor extraction and according to the number of elements of the slaveinformation (for the slave device to be controlled by the slave devicecontrol part itself). Furthermore, the slave information creating partcreates the slave information by using the values indicated by theelements extracted by the information extracting part. Then, the slavedevice control part controls the slave device by using the created slaveinformation. In other words, the slave device control part controls theslave device by using the slave information composed of elements equalin number to the number of control axes.

According to the above operation, regardless of the number of elementsof the slave information (i.e., the number of control axes of the slavedevice), the slave information for controlling the slave device issequentially created from the abstracted master information. Therefore,it is possible to control a plurality of types of slave devices withmutually different numbers of control axes.

The slave device control part of an embodiment of the disclosureincludes an extraction setting storing part storing a manner forextraction from the fixed number of elements of the abstracted masterinformation.

In the slave device control part of an embodiment of the disclosure, byreferring to the manner for extraction stored in the extraction settingstoring part, the information extracting part can quickly extractelements in a number in accordance with the number of elements of theslave information from the fixed number of elements of the abstractedmaster information.

In the control system of an embodiment of the disclosure, the extractionsetting storing part respectively stores the manner for extraction as alist for each of the slave information with mutually different numbersof elements.

In the control system of an embodiment of the disclosure, by referringto the list stored in the extraction setting storing part, the slavedevice control part can quickly extract elements in a number inaccordance with the number of elements of the slave information from thefixed number of elements of the abstracted master information.

In the slave device control part of an embodiment of the disclosure, theinformation extracting part refers to an element to be extracted inaccordance with the manner for extraction among the fixed number ofelements of the abstracted master information, and issues a warning whenan element of the master information is not allocated to the element.

In the slave device control part of an embodiment of the disclosure, theinformation extracting part part refers to an element to be extracted inaccordance with the manner for extraction among the fixed number ofelements of the abstracted master information. Here, when an element ofthe master information is not allocated to the element being referred to(the element to be extracted), whether an abnormality has occurred isconsidered. Therefore, the information extracting part issues a warningwhen an element of the master information is not allocated to theelement being referred to (the element to be extracted). As a result,maintenance personnel, etc., of the slave device control part and/or thecontrol system can promptly take appropriate measures.

According to the control method of the disclosure, it is possible tocontrol a plurality of types of master devices with mutually differentnumbers of control axes and a plurality of types of slave devices withmutually different numbers of control axes in combination.

The control method can be implemented by causing the computer device toexecute the program.

As set forth above, according to the control system, the control method,and the program of the disclosure, it is possible to control a pluralityof types of master devices with mutually different numbers of controlaxes and a plurality of types of slave devices with mutually differentnumbers of control axes in combination. In addition, according to theslave device control part of the disclosure, it is possible to control aplurality of types of slave devices with mutually different numbers ofcontrol axes.

What is claimed is:
 1. A control system that controls a master deviceand a slave device in combination, wherein the control system comprises:a master device control part controlling a master device with a certainnumber of control axes among a plurality of types of master devices withmutually different numbers of control axes by using master informationhaving elements equal in number to the number of control axes; a slavedevice control part controlling a slave device with a certain number ofcontrol axes among a plurality of types of slave devices with mutuallydifferent numbers of control axes by using slave information havingelements equal in number to the number of control axes; and anabstracted master information creating part sequentially receiving themaster information from the master device control part and creatingabstracted master information having a fixed number of elements based ona predetermined manner for allocation and according to the number ofelements of the received master information, wherein the slave devicecontrol part sequentially receives the abstracted master informationfrom the abstracted master information creating part, extracts elementsin a number in accordance with the number of elements of the slaveinformation from the fixed number of elements comprised in the receivedabstracted master information based on a predetermined manner forextraction and in accordance with the number of elements of the slaveinformation, and creates the slave information by using values indicatedby the extracted elements.
 2. The control system according to claim 1,wherein the control system comprises an allocation setting storing partstoring, as a correspondence table of respective elements, a manner forallocation from the elements of the master information to the fixednumber of elements of the abstracted master information for each of themaster information with mutually different numbers of elements.
 3. Thecontrol system according to claim 2, wherein the correspondence table ofthe allocation setting storing part correspondingly stores, for eachelement to which the element of the master information is allocatedamong the fixed number of elements of the abstracted master information,a magnification factor associated with the element.
 4. The controlsystem according to claim 2, wherein the fixed number of elements of theabstracted master information in the correspondence table comprise anelement representing a degree of freedom of translation and an elementrepresenting a degree of freedom of rotation, and when the element ofthe master information represents the degree of freedom of translation,the element is allocated to an element representing the degree offreedom of translation in the abstracted master information, and whenthe element of the master information represents the degree of freedomof rotation, the element is allocated to an element representing thedegree of freedom of rotation in the abstracted master information. 5.The control system according to claim 1, comprising: an extractionsetting storing part storing a manner for extraction from the fixednumber of elements of the abstracted master information.
 6. The controlsystem according to claim 5, wherein the extraction setting storing partrespectively stores the manner for extraction as a list for each of theslave information with mutually different numbers of elements.
 7. Thecontrol system according to claim 5, wherein the slave device controlpart refers to an element to be extracted in accordance with the mannerfor extraction among the fixed number of elements of the abstractedmaster information, and issues a warning when the element of the masterinformation is not allocated to the element.
 8. A slave device controlpart constituting part of a control system for controlling a masterdevice and a slave device in combination and for controlling a slavedevice with a certain number of control axes among a plurality of typesof slave devices with mutually different numbers of control axes byusing slave information having elements equal in number to the number ofcontrol axes, wherein: the control system comprises: a master devicecontrol part controlling a master device with a certain number ofcontrol axes among a plurality of types of master devices with mutuallydifferent numbers of control axes by using master information havingelements equal in number to the number of control axes, and the slavedevice control part comprises: an information extracting partsequentially receiving abstracted master information having a fixednumber of elements regardless of the number of elements of the masterinformation and extracting elements in a number in accordance with thenumber of elements of the slave information from the fixed number ofelements comprised in the received abstracted master information basedon a predetermined manner for extraction and according to the number ofelements of the slave information; and a slave information creating partcreating the slave information by using values indicated by the elementsextracted by the information extracting part.
 9. The central controldevice according to claim 8, comprising an extraction setting storingpart storing a manner for extraction from the fixed number of elementsof the abstracted master information.
 10. The central control deviceaccording to claim 9, wherein the extraction setting storing partrespectively stores the manner for extraction as a list for each of theslave information with mutually different numbers of elements.
 11. Theslave device control part according to claim 9, wherein the informationextracting part refers to an element to be extracted in accordance withthe manner for extraction among the fixed number of elements of theabstracted master information, and issues a warning when an element ofthe master information is not allocated to the element.
 12. A controlmethod for a control system that controls a master device and a slavedevice in combination, wherein the control system comprises: a masterdevice control part controlling a master device with a certain number ofcontrol axes among a plurality of types of master devices with mutuallydifferent numbers of control axes by using master information havingelements equal in number to the number of control axes; a slave devicecontrol part controlling a slave device with a certain number of controlaxes among a plurality of types of slave devices with mutually differentnumbers of control axes by using slave information having elements equalin number to the number of control axes, the control method comprises:sequentially receiving the master information from the master devicecontrol part; creating abstracted master information having a fixednumber of elements based on a predetermined manner for allocation andaccording to the number of elements of the received master information;extracting elements in a number in accordance with the number ofelements of the slave information from the fixed number of elementsincluded in the abstracted master information based on the predeterminedmanner for extraction and according to the number of elements of theslave information; and creating the slave information by using valuesindicated by the extracted elements.
 13. A non-transitory computerreadable medium comprising a program for causing a computer to executethe control method according to claim
 12. 14. The control systemaccording to claim 3, wherein the fixed number of elements of theabstracted master information in the correspondence table comprise anelement representing a degree of freedom of translation and an elementrepresenting a degree of freedom of rotation, and when the element ofthe master information represents the degree of freedom of translation,the element is allocated to an element representing the degree offreedom of translation in the abstracted master information, and whenthe element of the master information represents the degree of freedomof rotation, the element is allocated to an element representing thedegree of freedom of rotation in the abstracted master information. 15.The control system according to claim 2, comprising: an extractionsetting storing part storing a manner for extraction from the fixednumber of elements of the abstracted master information.
 16. The controlsystem according to claim 3, comprising: an extraction setting storingpart storing a manner for extraction from the fixed number of elementsof the abstracted master information.
 17. The control system accordingto claim 4, comprising: an extraction setting storing part storing amanner for extraction from the fixed number of elements of theabstracted master information.
 18. The control system according to claim6, wherein the slave device control part refers to an element to beextracted in accordance with the manner for extraction among the fixednumber of elements of the abstracted master information, and issues awarning when the element of the master information is not allocated tothe element.
 19. The slave device control part according to claim 10,wherein the information extracting part refers to an element to beextracted in accordance with the manner for extraction among the fixednumber of elements of the abstracted master information, and issues awarning when an element of the master information is not allocated tothe element.